Munsell

Munsell refers to a color notation system developed by American painter and educator Albert H. Munsell (1858–1918) and first published in 1905 as A Color Notation. The system provides a perceptually based method for describing colors in three dimensions: hue, value (lightness), and chroma (color purity or saturation).

In the Munsell system, hue is arranged on a circular wheel, while value runs from 0 (black) to 10 (white). Chroma measures color intensity, with 0 corresponding to neutral gray and higher numbers indicating greater saturation. A color is specified by a three-part coordinate, typically written as Hue Value/Chroma, for example, 5R 4/6, which identifies a hue in the red family with a lightness value of 4 and a chroma of 6.

Standardized color charts and chips were produced to accompany the system, facilitating consistent color communication in education, art, design, and industry. The Munsell notation aims to be perceptually uniform, so that roughly equal steps in hue, value, or chroma correspond to similar perceived differences.

Applications and influence are broad. The system has been widely used in art and design pedagogy, color matching in paint and textiles, and, notably, in soil science through Munsell Soil Color Charts to describe soil colors. It also influenced later color spaces and notation schemes, serving as a foundational approach for describing color in a structured, intelligible way. Today, the Munsell system remains a recognized reference for color specification and education, valued for its clear, human-centered description of color.